Historical Plaid wearing

[Hamish Ramsay]

G’day all.

New here so a quick update on me;
4th generation Australian with Scottish ancestry back to Earl of Dalhousie, Midlothian district - South of Edinburgh.

I am strong in holding on to my Scottish roots and love Celtic traditions including my Kilts of which I have 2 - Blue(hunting Ramsay) and Red Ramsay with matching Fly Plaids and Argyle jacket / vest etc. plus the one below.

I have a query of historical nature.
When cleaning out the family homestead after selling we discovered full kilt attire in a chest under the laundry table.
Kilt - broad red Urquhart
Plaid - broad red Urquhart
Sporran - full dress
Hose - broad red Urquhart
Flashes Tartan - for hose
Flashes - Plain (unknown use knitted green ribbon with two green flashes with red band through flash)
Buckles - of same size as flash ribbon
Brooch - clan crest (Ramsay not Urquhart)

Some homework suggests all could be 150+ years old as great grandmother was an Urquhart and she was born 1860’s
My query is on the woollen flashes and the plaid. I cannot think of how the flashes fit the outfit so some insight here would be good.
The plaid is more intriguing; it has been gathered in opposing corners with a silk rosette on the “shoulder”corner presumably for the brooch and the other corner has a silk ribbon long enough to tie around the waist and a silk triangle flash about 20cm / 8 inches long.
I fitted up my son in-law with the kilt and plaid and utilised the ribbon around his waist and all appeared perfect. The gathering and rosettes are on opposite sides of the cloth so designed to reverse in the lay when all in place.
Photos below

Insights would be much appreciated.
Cheers H

[Troglodyte]

A lucky find..!

The kilt, hose and flashes appear to be rather good quality, and were probably originally bought at the same time to form a smart outfit. Well worth hanging on to, especially if they fit.

The plaid's length of fall at the back is not clear in the picture, and the way you describe it makes me wonder if it is not actually part of the outfit, but intended to be worn by a lady. The conventional way is for a sort of tartan sash, hanging from one shoulder across the body to the oposite hip. These often have a rosette at the shoulder that will take a brooch.

It could be that the sash/plaid in a matching tartan to the kilt would be worn by the lady partner (wife) of the kilted man (husband) over her evening dress. That may be worth trying.

Or the plaid is part of the kilt outfit and the tie-cord is to hold it in place at the waist - this would be hidden by a waistcoat or doublet.

The whole lot looks as if it would benefit from a bit of TLC - a good airing, re-pressing the kilt and careful storage is what I would do.

[figheadair]

The plaid appears to be a Half-Plaid. The ribbon was tied around the waist (covered by a waistcoat or closed jacket) and the plaid arranged to replicate the upper portion of the older belted plaid. This style came in around 1800 and was gradually simplified. The Fly Plaid is a modern horror or a vestige of this. The material looks to be Saxony or a fine worsted. I’d date it to c.1880 +/- 10 years.

Can you post a picture of the rear of the kilt, it looks to be box-pleated, something that would have been the norm at the time. I’m interested in the buckles and straps too. Finally, a hint of a nice sporran. Pictures please.

[Hamish Ramsay]

Thank you all for the very informative responses, much appreciated.

I have attached a few more pictures to provide more detail into the find!!

I can concur with figheadair with the plaid as that is how I managed to dress the son in law pictured previously. I wondered too whether perhaps the kilt belonged to my G-Grandmother and she used it for Highland dance and thus the need to restrain the plaid!! I see no need for the sporran in that case however as from my understanding ladies were not inclined to don a Sporran. The extra woollen flashes and buckles however are a mystery for me at this point.

[figheadair]

Thank you for posting the detailed pictures. It is now clear that the kilt is knife pleated, it has a silk waistband and apron tie, plus buttons for braces.

The construction of the plaid is a great help in dating this. I have examined a number like this, including those made for the Prince of Wales (Later Edward VIII). Having looked at the various pieces, I am going to revise the date for this outfit to c.1900 +/- 10 years.

The buckles would have been used to add to ‘standard’ shoes to dress them up and allow the outfit to be worn on more formal occasions. The extra flashes were probably worn in similar circumstances.

[kilted2000]

As someone with connections to Clan Urquhart those pictures are fascinating. Thank you for sharing your amazing find.

[stickman]

I may be wrong, but it looks to me that the metal parts of the sporran are silver that could just need some polishing.

[OC Richard]

I may be wrong, but it looks to me that the metal parts of the sporran are silver that could just need some polishing.

Yes they look more like tarnished silver than tarnished German Silver, which is the most common metal seen in belt fittings and sporran fittings c1850-c1950.

Either way, a polish would do a world of good! Just be careful not to get polish on the hair.

Personally I usually remove the cantle and the cones to give them a thorough polish, keeping them away from the hair.

Or with a cantle that's difficult to remove, I cut a piece of thin cardboard to the exact shape of the curve of the cantle where it meets the hair, to cover the hair during polishing.

[OC Richard]

The construction of the plaid is a great help in dating this. I have examined a number like this, including those made for the Prince of Wales (Later Edward VIII). Having looked at the various pieces, I am going to revise the date for this outfit to c.1900 +/- 10 years.

Modern (c1950-today) plaids I've seen are made in a similar way, except that I've not seen that small triangle of cloth on the belt.

[Hamish Ramsay]

Thanks again all for the responses and wonderful insights and advice.

C1900 is not beyond possibility however I’m puzzled as to whose it was at that stage as the connection to Urquhart was my G-Grandmother and she married my G-Grandfather in 1860’s and I would not have thought she would need a kilt particularly as my G-Grandfather passed away in 1882.

She did have two brothers so possibly it belonged to one of them but how we ended up with it in that case is unknown.

Suffice to say I’m glad we did as it is a gem and such great historical connection.

We have our daughters wedding later next year so I will follow up with the polishing tips and get the sporran looking first rate. If someone has some pictures or diagrams of how the buckles and extra flashes are worn I might look at having some matching Ramsay red ones made to be able to wear.